the bay area tonight. these pictures from marin county where there is a steady rain already falling. now we can show you a live picture of the golden gate bridge where you can see the slick roadway, and it is going

to be that way in all likelihood for your morning commute. and in the sierra, chain restrictions are in affect over donner summit and snow is falling in the mountains. i'm dan ashley. carolyn johnson is off. let's start with sandhya patel to begin our storm watch coverage. sandhya, how does it look on live doppler 7hd? >> the storm is getting its act together and we are see something downpours. i am going to show you whenner it is raining moderate to heavy at this hour as we take you down to street level here around had to drive and santa rosa. you can see stoney point road. we are seeing heavier returns here and petaluma heading out toward bennett valley road. we are also seeing some moderate rainfall around the boys hot springs area and some lighter rainfall out toward the fairfield area. it is just beginning to move into the fairfield area. san francisco has now started to see some of the rain. it is coming down. at least moderate rainfall

right around a lincoln boulevard and maureen gnaw boulevard and out toward the embarcadero. as you can see, lighter rain around potrero avenue. as we pull out, we do have more moisture working its way toward the bay area. it is going to be coming down during the morning hours. the morning commute does not look good at this point. we are looking at a messy morning ride, and we will see some brief downpours. i will have the exact time you can expect heavy rain in a few minutes. dan? the rain-soaked soil proved to be too unstable to keep this tree upright. sky 7hd shows you the mess it created at central park on el camino real. it shows the massive clean up earlier this evening. one person reported a minor injuries. and you know, there might be one of the water logged trees teetering in your yard. it is a dangerous problem because of the rain. so serious a local removal crew dispatched from hurricane

can see rushed back here to help out. cornell bernard is live in one of many areas with downed trees. cornell. >> it has been raining for the last two hours. it is complicating things from tree crews who have come from near to far protecting the homeowners and the public. tree crews are cutting as many limbs and branches as they can before night fall. it has been an impossible game of catch up trying to protect the public against one thing. >> they can fall over and god forbid someone be walking underneath. >> zach olson and his crew have been running nonstop since the big weekend storms. they shot this video of a massive oak tree that fell friday right on top of doris hong's home splitting her roof in two. >> the ceiling was almost collapsing. >> what was the noise like? >> it was horrible. it was so loud.

>> reporter: luckily doris wasn't hurt, but her home of 60 years suffered major damage. >> trees that are leaning and people are concerned. they are paying attention so i am getting calls and looking at thicks and hopefully mitigating potential hazards. >> reporter: he has spent the last two days removing a 100-foot douglas fir that fell in the yard and crushing her garage and the family car. >> first she went like this and didn't come back and yell and scream we ran out. >> i had very little sleep. >> reporter: he came back to california from long island, new york, where he has been helping homeowners recover from superstorm sandy. >> started looking at the weather and hearing reports of something big coming in. i got on the plane and came in the evening before the storm, the first one and ever since then it has been nonstop. >> he tells us that he will

return to storm-ravaged long island on thursday, but says he will return to northern california when the next big storm hits. we are live in lark sture where it is -- larkspur where it is raining pretty heavy. abc news. >> thanks very much. crews in the santa cruz mountains hope to have one lane open on vine hill road tomorrow. a section of the road collapsed after the recent storms. one reason it is critical to get this thing fixed is vine hill road is an escape route for the city of santa cruz in the case of an emergency evacuation. it would be needed desperately if that should happen. fixing the entire road, however, will take a month. and we are tracking this storm throughout the morning with live doppler 7hd and with our team of reporters throughout the bay area. live coverage begins at 4:30 a.m. with the abc7 morning news and live updates throughout the morning. stay here with us. we will keep you up-to-date. meantime, breaking news in oakland where police say four people have been shot. the investigation is happening right now on the 600 block of east 18th street. there is no word yet on the

condition of the victims. again four people shot. no arrests have been made to this point. new at 11:00, a bizarre kidnapping and a daring escape in the south bay. a handyman was threatened, beaten and forced to do repair work for several hours. it started yesterday morning at a home on called well court and ended at the chevron on santa teresa boulevard in san jose. and that's where abc7 news reporter john alston is live. john, a wild story. >> this is a weird one. a san jose police descended after the handyman escaped and called 9-1-1. the clerk says that the officers drew their weapons as the two kidnapping suspects nervously shopped for snacks. >> the ordeal lasted nearly seven hours at this home in morgan hill. the handyman was lured here and beaten and forced to do repair work on household appliances yesterday. >> pretty much told, hey, we

are going to kill you if you don't do what we tell you. we want you to fix these things around the house. again out of fear and the unknown of what will happen to them. >> reporter: according to the sheriff's office the threats and the assaults came from 36-year-old jason de jesus and chanel who live at the house. what brought the handyman here was a dispute over work he had done for a relative of one of those suspects. around 5:30 they allegedly forced him to drive to the chevron in san jose on the way to finish work on the other home. left alone at this pump, the handyman bolted from his truck as the accused kid p thatters were shopping for snacks. >> until the police showed up and pointed the gun in the window and said "i am going to shoot you in the face." that's when i just kind of -- i recommended to the guys, you know, it would probably be a good idea if you did what the

man said. >> reporter: the handyman had called 9-1-1 from his nearby home. and that man didn't want his face on camera. >> a bland haired gentleman came to my door and knocked on the door frantically asking if he could use my phone. apparently he said he had been kidnapped and beaten. i could visibly see he had injuries. >> the neighbor said the handyman had blood on the side of his face. although authorities say there was no gun or knife involved, the suspects have been arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and false imprisonment. they are in the santa clara county jail. 234* san jose, john alston, abc news. >> a strange story. two children reported missing in florida were found in california. they were last seen with their parents last thursday in mill born. authorities started an investigation of the family after getting a tip that the parents planned a suicide pact. the parents took off with the

kids when confronted. the kids will be taken back to florida and put in protective custody. authorities have not said where the parents are tonight. an autistic girl reported missing in oakland last week was kidnapped and raped before she escaped her captivity. the girl wandered away from a youth center on november 27th. police say the man grabbed the girl from near the fruit veil bart station. he took her to his home in san francisco and then repeatedly raped her for several days authorities say. police arrested 36-year-old gary atkins and this man on sunday. prosecutors charged him today with performing lewd acts upon a child and rape. >> this is by far one of the most sickening cases i have seen in my career as a police officer that someone -- as mr. atkinson can take advantage of someone of this stature. >> after three days the girl escaped. a muni operator found her last thursday. police say she picked her

attacker out of a photo lineup, and that's how they made the arrest. crimefighters in san francisco don't have to get a badge to get involved now. just get on-line. a new program boy the police department is counting on the public and social media to solve cases. it is called "the lineup" on the sfpd website. each week a piece of surveillance video is featured on the site with the hopes that someone looking in will recognize a criminal. this week's offering shows a stun gun assault on poke street from last month. we have a link to the police website at abc7news.com under see it on tv. perhaps you can help solve a crime. coming up here next, a lot more to get to. people living in the shadow of a refinery and facing the possibility of losing a fire station. the decision that could very well affect their safety. and the beverage inspired by a regae singer is pulled. what happened to the students after they drank it. and we are tracking the new storm.

sand you patel is up -- sandhya patel is up next with live doppler 7hd. all of that in moments and then late other "nightline." >> dan, a tale of luck gone wrong as one woman stands trial for allegedly killing a jackpot winner for his millions. plus the controversial man made super fish that could be coming to a grocery store knee

very sharp reaction tonight to the proposed closure of four fire stations in the east bay. voters turned down a measure that would have saved stations in lafayette, walnut creek, clayton and a station in martinez not far from the shell oil refinery. abc7 news reporter alan wang is live in martinez to explain what this means for people living near the stations. alan? >> dan, when you live next to a refinery like this one there is always comfort in knowing you have a fire station in your neighborhood. but the clough is sures are being based on stations with the lowest number of calls, and that's why the one in this neighborhood could be shutdown.

carol's home lies in the shadow of the shell refinery in martinez. the refinery has its own fire department, but in case of a major catastrophe it would receive mutual aid from station 12 of the contra costa fire protection district. the mutual aid could end due to a lack of funding. >> i know which i am not happy about that. it is nice having a fire station across the street. >> it will impact response times to areas around the station as well as we are going to have to wait long for resources because they will be coming from further away and they require multiple fire engines. >> if station 12 is shutdown people living near the refinery would rely on a fire station near downtown martinez. it would add four minutes to the response time. station 12 along with three others could have been saved by a partial tax measure that failed last month. today the contra costa county supervisors were grappling

with shutting four of the stations. >> we did say we would listen to what the voters said. they either would want us to continue the current service level, or they would not approve it. unfortunately it did not get the two-thirds it n >> the vote was postponed, but many feefl it is inevitable because the district feels it needs to shutdown two more stations by july of next year. >> the county supervisors will vote to close down the stations next tuesday. as i mentioned, they will also have to close down two more by july of next year along with one or two more by july of 2014. reporting live in martinez, alan wang, abc7 news. >> thank you. a school in new jersey was forced to remove a bob marley branded drink from the lunchroom after several students became ill. it is called marley's mellow

mood. the drink's label says it is not intended for children, however several middle school students bought it on campus. some became lethargic and volume milted. a food service manager has been suspended during the investigation. more to come on that. let's go back and go to where we started at the top of the broadcast and that is more rain that is coming into the bay area. abc7 news meteorologist sandhya patel is tracking it on radar and has the latest. >> yes, dan. the rain has made it into the east bay, and i want to take you down to where it is coming in pretty heavily in the north bay. we are seeing some moderate rainfall and heavy rainfall on warm springs road. as we show you santa rosa we are seeing moderate rainfall. it was heavy earlier. dee nickels tweets, pouring in santa rosa. i told him, confirmed by our

live doppler 7hd. this was two minutes ago. as we look at the east bay right now you can see emeryville, berkeley heading out toward the tunnel and orinda getting moderate rain. oakland just started reporting some very lighterain. you can see it on the live doppler 7hd. in san francisco it has lightened up. california street and turk street we are seeing light rain around the embarcadero as well. the main rain event as far as this system is concerned arrives in the morning. some of this is switching up to snow in the high country. the reno national weather service just issued a winter weather advisory until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. the snow levels i have to tell you are extremely high over 10,000 feet. they are issuing it for the 7500 foot level. just keep that in mind that you may need chains. temperatures in the 50s and 60s. here are the highlights. rainy for your morning commute and showers in the afternoon. we are looking at a dryer pattern on thursday and it

will take you right on through the weekend. here is a look at the satellite and radar. this has been one, slow moving system. it hasn't been bringing rain to the entire bay area. matter of fact, the north bay is where most of the rain was this afternoon and this evening. it has started to move down to the south and the east. you can see the rain coverage, and this is when many of you are heading out the door. you will see widespread light to moderate rain. it picks up briefly at 7:00 a.m. and some of you are taking your kids off to school and we will see some brief heavy downpours with this system. could see heavy pockets of rain around 9:00 a.m. wednesday and 11:00 a.m. light to moderate across most of the bay area and getting a break up to the north. really the showers will be scattered in nature through the afternoon and heading into tomorrow night. a slow moving system. have your umbrellas with you. you will need the rain gear. these roup dated and three quarters of an inch to an inch and a half.

half an inch to an inch on the peninsula. quarter to half an inch in the south bay. could see up to an inch of rain. tomorrow morning plan for a slow going commute. grab your umbrellas and make sure you give yourself extra time. it will be a bit slow on the roadways. temperatures in the 50s, and as you look at your highs for tomorrow, upper 50s to the mid60s. rain switching to showers. we are looking at dry conditions forayeders day as they take on the broncos on thursday. really dry and heading to the cool side. plenty of sun, upper 50s to low 60s. nice, bright sunny skies on monday and tuesday. dan, mike will be here from 4:30 to 7:00 a.m. tracking the storm and getting you out the door with live doppler 7hd. saved by the bell. do you recognize the man in this video? the vintage performance by a local sports star. stay with us.

a real life drama out of a samuel l jackson movie

unfolded in the skies over egypt. a snake on a plane forced the emergency landing of an egypt flight from cairo to kuwait. a jordanian man was bitten by a cobra he smuggled on to the flight. it was not life-threatening. the snake slithered under the seats before it was captured and come physician skated -- confiscated by authorities. the team is showing their pride as they are getting closer to raiders day. that is jt the brick on the far right with members of the raider nation. now raiders day begins tomorrow with a special pre game edition of abc7 news at 6:30. and we really get going thursday with sports director larry beil hosting a special pre game show at 4:00. raider greats will join us for that. abc's coverage of the denver-oakland game begins live from the coliseum. and once the game ends they will return with after the game. and then it is abc programming and "gray'sgrey's anatomy" at 9:00 and followed by" scandal" at 10:00 and a special edition

of abc7 news at midnight on thursday night. that's all coming up thursday. >> it will be fun. hopefully they can knock them off. >> they need to turn it around. talking baseball, the giants wanted marcoscutero back, and he wanted to come back. the biggest holdup, the money. what is a few million among friends here? marco's new

good evening. so far it is a perfect off season for the world champion giants and gm brian sabian. the giants agreed to terms with marco scutero worth $20 million. he joined the giants in a midseason trade from the rockies. he turned into an instant star. he hit 328 in the post season and the most available player. he had a huge role in the world series run.

talk about a huge run three for three in the off season and resigned afeld and pagan and the market got hot with interest from the cardinals and the yankees, but he will be back in the orange and black. dennis alan will be back with the silver and black tomorrow night. he has been in texas and his father, gradey, just passed away at 66 from cardiac arrest. he is expected to coach the raiders against den yes, sir. as -- against denver. the raiders are trying to end a five-game losing streak. they should get a boost from darrin mcfaden. carson palmer knows exactly how important mcfaden is. >> he is back. i can't wait to watch him. he brings a chance for marcell to get some rest. marcell has been getting a ton of reps. and obviously an explosive element to the game that he has unlike many other players in this league.

>> being able to get down there and get down field. >> i am very excited. >> want to see darrin mcfaden and that burst again. he knows about the glory days. they got a lesson on present day hoops. lavin born in the city went to sir frass sis drake -- st. francis drake. dons by three at the break. he took over in the second half and the lost start of the bounce pass. in transition to dirksen and then a john stockton-like 18 points and career high 14 assists. the dons victorious. and they are now 5-1. maybe you have seen this funny clip of jim harbaugh making the rounds on the internet from 1996. harbaugh on an episode of "saved by the bell."

>> you know, people think i am a hero because i can throw a football, but i wouldn't be anything without my teammates. when you think you are a big shot, that's when you usually get in trouble. >> you can always count on my cuz. >> all right, abc7 sports

tonight on "nightline" -- murder for millions? she's accused of killing a jackpot winner for his cash. and helping plot a scheme to blame it all on a fall guy. a shocking tail of luck gone deadly wrong. and "nightline" investiges